The Left’s Condescension

A few weeks ago, a Google employee wrote a memo which addressed–among other things–the lack of women in the technological field. A friend of mine from college, who refuses to accept my friend request on Facebook, made a comment about the issue on one of my friend’s pages. Predictably, he stated that women have been locked out of tech jobs because that field has been dominated by men for generations. He believes–like most liberals–that there is a giant Misogynist Monster who manipulates the minds of women and steers them away from tech jobs. I showed this friend a study from the federal government that showed that over twice as many men than women have technology majors in college, which is a good indicator of professional desire. Based on those facts, I said that there is nothing keeping women from pursuing tech majors/jobs, and that maybe women just aren’t as interested in those jobs as men. No conspiracy. No misogyny. For drawing that conclusion, he called me “uneducated, dismissive, and naïve.”

After the second church shooting in about a month, the gun control debate went into high gear again. In each shooting, an armed citizen put an end to the slaughter. John Feinstein, a best-selling author, tweeted that armed citizens did nothing to prevent any of the shootings in Las Vegas, Newtown, etc. I responded by stating that good guys with guns kept things from getting much worse. (We were probably talking about two different issues, but that’s beside the point.) For that seemingly innocuous comment, Feinstein–an ardent liberal who promotes open-mindedness and compassion–called me a “moron.”

Some liberals who are a little more conscientious hide their condescension in flowery expressions. They’ll talk about “coming together” and “having more dialogue.” They won’t call their opponents bad names or use inflammatory language, but they’ll be instantly dismissive of anything that isn’t a full endorsement of liberal ideology. “Coming together” simply means, “Conservatives, you need to understand how right, compassionate, and people-loving we are. When you open your eyes to these truths, our society will greatly improve. In the meantime, please do not express your conservative views. Leave all political discussion to us, the smart people.”

Are there politically hypocritical conservatives? You bet. Are there conservatives who refuse to listen to the other side of a discussion? Absolutely. But I honestly believe that the Left has cornered the market on condescension. No one should be taken seriously when he/she uses the “I’m smart, you’re stupid” debate tactic. It’s a childish defense mechanism and proves that he/she can not or will not debate the issue at hand.